SAN FRANCISCO – As US footwear brand Allbirds launches an initial public offering (IPO), animal rights group PETA has purchased shares in the company, earning the right to attend the company’s annual meetings.
PETA routinely buys shares in fashion brands and retailers and uses these events to call for bans on animal-derived materials. The hope is that by attending Allbirds’ meetings, the brand will eventually agree to swap out merino wool for vegan textile alternatives.
“Every wool Allbirds shoe represents a gentle sheep who may have been kicked, punched, or left in a pool of her own blood on a shearing shed floor,” says PETA executive vice president, Tracy Reiman. “With our new shareholder status, PETA will push Allbirds to cut the greenwashing by eliminating wool from its products.”
